A Huge Dead Squid Floated by the Ship

Yesterday, a large and very dead squid was seen floating at the surface near the ship. The SEAPLEX crew retrieved the body (carcass? not sure what you call a dead squid) and brought it on board. The crew was unable to determine the type of squid, so parts of it (including its beak) were preserved and will be brought back to Scripps for identification.

Big squid! Josh Jones (left) and Chelsea Rochman inspect an
as-yet-undetermined species of squid, removing parts for later
inspection and identification. The remains of the squid, found floating
off the portside of the ship, featured a mantle that measured 2.5
meters. Adding the tentacles this animal might have been as large as
five or six meters.

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[…] a Pacific sunset. Earlier today, the crew brought onboard what seems to be a very large colossal squid that was already dead and half eaten, making identification a bit difficult. When I woke up, the […]

[…] the New Horizon’s cruise track, I’m able to tweak it as necessary. And the other day, collecting an enormous rotting squid was definitely necessary. I got to yell, “Captain! Follow that squid!” (No following was […]

This large squid may very well be the North Pacific Giant Squid or Architeuthis martensii. Apparently four have been found off the coast of California and all of them are in the cephalopod collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The last one found off the coast of California was June 6, 2008.

By: Kent Trego on August 6, 2009 at 12:28 pm

Correction, the last Architeuthis martensii collected off the coast of California was on June 25, 2008.

By: Kent Trego on August 6, 2009 at 12:33 pm

Sorry about the two proceeding emails with different information dates.
The large squid you collected is probably the North Pacific Giant Squid species Architeuthis martensi. Four specimens of this species have been found previously in the ocean off California. All four specimens are in the invertebrate collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. The last specimen found in the ocean off California was last year on June 25. This species can get up to 45 feet in length.